


Leo’s Quest

by vic15



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Anxiety, Battleship, Bro - Freeform, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Leo and Calypso break up, Long one folks, Multi, Quest, is Leo okay tho, leo x oc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-05 13:45:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14045520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vic15/pseuds/vic15
Summary: Leo comes back to Camp Half Blood to visit his friends, not to go on another quest. Unfortunately, nothing goes as planned in Leo’s life. He and two new friends are sent off together. Thanks a lot, Rachel.





	1. Leo has no idea what’s coming

Leo sat on the back of his mechanical dragon Festus, grinning as the wind blew through his hair. He was making a visit to Camp Half Blood, to meet up with the rest of the seven for a short reunion. They hadn’t seen each other for a few months, with Leo, Percy, and Annabeth going to school, Jason and Piper at Camp Half Blood, and Hazel and Frank at Camp Jupiter. 

He couldn’t wait to get there, as the flight alone had been so boring. Since he broke up with Calypso, she wasn’t with him. 

The break up happened several weeks before this, and Leo had been excepting it. With Calypso trying to get used to her new life, and Leo wanting so much of her attention, the two of them had been fighting a lot. He decided it would be better to end it, at least until the two of them were older, and things had (hopefully) settled down. 

Leo looked down at the land beneath him, the tight collection of buildings quickly turning into fields and forests, which meant that he was getting close. It was almost sunset, and he could see the sun over the ocean, making the water sparkle beneath them. He smiled and let himself relax as he stared out at it, thinking about getting to see camp again. Leo was practicing exploding with excitement. He was going to see his best friend. 

He was also excited to go to Bunker 9, there were quite a few things he wanted to bring back with him. 

Leo was snapped out of his daydreams as Festus snorted. They were getting close to camp. He worked his magic and began slowing them down as they headed down, aiming for a grassy area in the centre of camp. 

After another few minutes, they landed safely in camp, Leo jumping off of Festus’s back, stretching his arms as he grinned and whooped. Festus transformed into a small disk, which Leo put right into his pocket. After the last time Festus broke apart, Leo decided that Calypso using some magic on him would never hurt. 

“Leo’s home, baby!” He shouted, with a big grin. 

This got him looks and giggles from the nearby campers, one of the, being Piper McLean. She ran over to give him a hug and kiss on the cheek, excited to see him. 

“Good, we didn’t think you’d get here today! Glad you could make it.” She grinned, taking a step back to look at Leo. 

“Don’t ever doubt me.” He chuckled. 

“You grow an inch or two?”

“Maybe I did.”

“You look good,” Piper laughed, “Jason and the others are around here somewhere. What do ya say we go and find em?”

Leo nodded, taking a look around camp. “Yeah. I expected you to be with him. Off making out or something.”

Piper hit his arm for that comment. Leo made a lot of jokes, but she obviously not expecting that one. They continued their chat as they headed towards the beach. Piper talked about who had been going on at camp lately, and Leo told her about his school and what he was up to. Nothing very interesting, as the past year had been strangely peaceful. Leo was hoping that would last a while longer, but he knowing their life, that was a stupid thought. 

Jason, Percy, and Annabeth were all on the beach together. They were sitting around, laughing, and seemed to be having fun. There were several other kids hanging around the beach, too. A group of Aphrodite kids by the water, some kids in the water, dunking their friends, and some others sitting on the beach. There must be something going on tonight. 

 

The five demigods hung out on the beach. They all quickly caught up and were able to relax. Apparently Frank and Hazel were busy at Camp Jupiter, and wouldn’t be able to come until the morning. Percy and Annabeth were in college, which was going pretty well for them, and Piper and Jason were still figuring things out, hanging out at camp and trying to relax while they could. 

Eventually someone asked about Leo and Calypso, and Leo had to answer the awkward question. Most of them were surprised that they had broken up, except for Piper, who simply nodded and said she was sorry about it. Leo assumed it was an Aphrodite thing, or maybe the rest of the group were less surprised than they seemed.

This wasn’t the first time he realized this, but Leo couldn’t help but think about how he was the only one of his friends who were single. Again. He still remembers how he felt on the Argo II, the other six all in a relationship, while also was the seventh wheel. There was Nico, who was with them for a while, and he wasn’t in a relationship then. That helped a little, even if Nico scared the bejesus out of him. But now Leo was single again, and Nico was dating some dude from camp. Woot woot.

Leo tried his best to change the subject, asking Jason about Nico, since the thoughts were in his kind. That did it. Apparently there was a new kid in the Hades cabin. That was kind of a big deal... you know, since Hades hadn’t had a demigod kid in years. His name was Cerne, and he was pretty new. They didn’t know a lot about him, because they rarely saw him, and Nico didn’t say much about him. Apparently he was pretty shy. 

Jason also talked about the two new Zeus kids. Leo heard about them a little before, their names were Neil and Silvia. Neil was a nice dude, and Silvia was a cool young girl. That got Percy talking about his little sister, not the demigod siblings, but his mortal sister. 

The three of them continued talking like this until it was time for everyone to go to bed. Leo didn’t realize that it was getting dark, and he suddenly regretted missing dinner. He ran off to the Hephaestus cabin, eating a bag of mini Oreos left over from the trip to CHB. 

 

He entered the cabin and said hello to everyone else who was inside the cabin, taking in the place. It was one of the most awesome buildings in the world, filled with some of the most awesome people in the world. He spoke with Bridgette, who he had made counsellor when he moved. She was the perfect person for it. She was a sweet gentle person, but also big, strong and intimidating. Bridgette welcomed Leo warmly, giving him a tight hug. 

“Valdez!” Bridgette boomed, laughing and examining him. “You look tired. We set up a bed for you.”

“Well I—“ Leo was interrupted by her turning him around, pointing him towards a cot she had set up. 

“Go to bed, Valdez.” She grinned, patting him on the back. “You’ve had a long flight. Goodnight.”


	2. Battleship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy and Jason playing some battleship.

Bridgette was right. As soon as Leo’s head hit the pillow, he was out. Unfortunately, some strange dreams plagued Leo all night. 

He couldn’t remember it all exactly, it was all very fuzzy, but he definitely saw some familiar and unfamiliar faces. Percy, Annabeth, and Nico were there, along with some other kids from camp, like Bridgette, and some he couldn’t name. There was an angry girl with long brown hair, some blond guy he had never seen before, and monsters. A lot of those. Leo’s favourite enemies. They were all in some sort of temple. The walls around him were crumbling, and the ground beneath him shook. 

He remembers the feeling of panic and seeing a large looming figure over him. He remembers someone laughing and others screaming. He remembers someone yelling his name. 

Then he woke up. 

“Valdez.” Bridgette stood over him, her hands on her hips. He looked around quickly. The rest of the cabin seemed to be awake and dressed, some of them smirking at him. 

Bridgette grinned and lifted him out of bed, setting him down holding him in place as he stumbled. 

“Come on, brother. You can’t sleep all day.” She smiled, patting his arms before turning around. Everyone was heading out for breakfast, leading Leo behind to get changed. 

He thought about his dreams, trying to piece everything together. His dreams weren’t normally that fuzzy, and it worried the demigod. He got himself changed and headed over to the dining pavilion, sitting down with the rest of his cabin to eat. 

Leo was uncharacteristically quiet throughout the meal. He hadn’t had dreams like that since what happened with Apollo, and they were definitely not as intense as the dreams he had when after Gaia. 

Breakfast went by very quickly. Before long he was walking off on his own, lost in his thoughts. He only had two more days here, and he didn’t want whatever that dream was about to ruin everything. Leo Valdez did not let anything get in the way of his fun, that was for sure. Any monsters that try to ruin this can—

“Ow!”

Leo stumbled backwards. He’d run into some camper. 

He looked up at them. The girl in front of him was tall, with piercing blue eyes and dark brown hair. She wore a CHB shirt, and a very sour expression. 

“Sorry, lady.” Leo held up his hands to the intimidating woman, who nodded in response. 

“Right. Watch where you’re going next time, shorty” She seemed to look right through Leo as she headed past him, the sword strapped to her back clanging as she walked away. He watched her go for a couple of seconds as she walked away. He didn’t recognize her, and decided to ignore the ‘shorty’ comment for now. Must be some cranky Ares kid or something. He shook it off. 

“Hey.” Suddenly Piper was right next to him, a smirk on her face. “That’s Winnie. She’s great, eh?”

“A real charmer.” Leo nodded, looking at her. “A friend of yours? New?”

“Not exactly. I sparred with her a few times.” Piper shrugged. “She’s not new either. Been here for years. Almost as long as Annabeth. Feisty.”

“I did not need to know that.”

Piper looked at Leo, giving him a knowing smile. She twisted her braid in her fingers, glancing at over at Winnie. She seemed to know something that Leo didn’t, and it drove him nuts. 

“Well, maybe you two should talk sometime.” Piper turned to Leo again, patting his arm. “There’s a lot of very nice people here at camp. You should make some more friends.”

Leo laughed at her, nodding. “Sure, Pipes. I’ll get right on that. Yknow, I came here to spend time with you guys, I don’t think I’ll be too interested in chatty with that happy camper. Maybe next time.”

Piper shrugged and looked over at a group of girls, a couple of them waving to her, wanting her to come over. “Well, I’ve gotta get going, but you have fun. Percy and Jason are in the Poseidon cabin if you need something to do.” With har, Piper ran off to the group of girls, smiling and chatting. 

Amazing. Leo immediately went for the Poseidon cabin to see his the guys. That was better than walking around aimlessly. He ducked inside to his his two friends hanging out in the floor, playing a board game. A board game... at a summer camp? Maybe he made the wrong choice. Leo sat down anyway, looking at the two of them. “What are you doing?”

Jason looked up. “Playing battleship. Percy brought it.”

Leo hummed. “Watch as two of the most powerful demigods, Jason Grace and Perseus Jackson, sit and begin their ultimate test. Battleship.”

Jason snorted. “Gotta do something to relax. Get our mind off.. things. B5?”

“Miss.” Percy grinning. 

“What? No way. Are your ships even on the board?!”

Leo peeked over at Percy’s side, sniffling a laugh as looked at his board. Empty, except for several white pegs. “Jeez Jason, you were so close.” He lied. “Try B7.”

“Hey, don’t help him.” Percy said, giving Jason a devilish smirk. “He’s a smart guy. I think. F6.”

Jason glared at Percy over his glasses, putting a final red peg on his largest ship. “Excuse me?”

“Yeah?” Percy leaned back against his bed, stretching out his arms and legs, tapping Jason’s arm with his foot. 

Leo snorted. “Okay, that’s enough you two lovebirds. Enough flirting, or I think I’m gonna gag.”

That made Percy laugh. The demigod wiggled his eyebrows at Jason, blowing him as kiss. “Look at him. You know he wants me.”

Jason smiled and moved Percy’s foot away from him, holding it off to the side. . “Yes. Of course. You’re a gorgeous sex god, Perseus.”

“Right.” Percy smirked. 

“You’re also hilarious.”

“Yes.”

“And very smart.”

“Mhm.”

“And..”

“And?”

“And it’s your turn.” Jason dropped Percy’s foot, laughing and leaning back against the spare bed. 

Leo laughed at the two of them, shaking his head. “Wow. You’d better be careful, or Piper and Annabeth’ll find out.”

“About what?” Annabeth stood in the doorway of Percy’s cabin, an eyebrow raised. She was definitely intimidating, though Leo couldn’t tell if she was trying to be, or if that’s just how her face was. 

Percy grinned up at her with innocent eyes. “That Jason’s cheating. At battleship.”

“I’m— I’m what?”

“You heard me. D1.”

“Dammit.” 

Leo watched Jason grabbed a red peg, he also muttered something under his breath, shaking his head at Percy. Annabeth sat on the bed behind Percy, leaning down. Her head rested on his shoulder as she looked down at their game, frowning. “Percy... aren’t your boats supposed to be on the board?”

Jason’s eyes flicked up to Percy. “Yes, Percy. Aren’t your boats supposed to be on the board?” 

Percy laughed awkwardly, looking back at Annabeth. “I think I’m gonna take a break from battleship.” He started to stand up, and so did Jason. 

“Oh no you don’t, Perseus..” Jason grinned goofily, and the two of them bolted out of the cabin, Jason close behind Percy. Leo and Annabeth watched them run, then looked at each other, snorting and grinning. They seemed to share the same thought; after all they’d been through this year, they both deserved be kids for a change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The battleship part was stupid, butso fun to write. XD


	3. Winnie Thorne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beating up kids might not be the best way to make friends.

Winnie sat in the Nike cabin, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. The cabin was currently empty, and no one was there to see her like she was. Sweaty and exhausted. She had been training for several hours out in the heat, wearing all that hot armour. 

She stared out the window, feeling calm and tired, not wanting to move from where she was. She panted softly as sweat dripped from her long hair, and her muscles ached. She was definitely not the prettiest sight, but that was never her first concern anyways. 

After a minute, Winnie forced herself to her feet, going into the bathroom to get changed. She considered getting a shower, but ended up deciding to wait. It was almost time to eat, and she really didn’t want to miss that. She settled for splashing herself with cold water and running her hair under the sink. Then she tried off and put on an orange t-shirt and shorts. 

Winnie opened up the bathroom door, where she was greeted by a few of her siblings, both sitting in one of the cabin’s living rooms. They were talking aggressively, and Winnie instinctively tuned them both out. She grabbed her sword and walked out of the cabin, holding her head high. 

Winnie had made herself a reputation at camp. As she walked past younger campers, they avoided eye contact with her, or simply avoided being near her at all. Some campers sneered or whispered to each other, acting like Winnie couldn’t hear what they were saying. 

This day, one brave kid actually said something to her, coming up behind her. “Hey, sweetie.” Winnie visibly cringed. It was an Aphrodite girl. They liked to but her, because they knew she didn’t like them. Winnie turned around, and was face to face with Hillary Image, a tall 13 year old girl, with long black hair, and a sneer on her face. 

“Hey Lose-ie.” 

Winnie smiled. She almost enjoyed doing this with her, just to see what Hillary would say. Hillary enjoyed getting a rise out of Winnie, and was relatively harmless, but she was definitely annoying. and Winnie did not like that. 

“Oh jesus, Crabs.” Winnie looked down at her, squinting her eyes. “You bored or something? Go blow your brains out. You’ve got nothing to lose.”

“What?” Hillary laughed. “I don’t know what your problem is, but it’s probably hard to pronounce..”

“You know, you have a great personality. Just not for a human being.” Winnie looked down at her. 

“Jesus, I just wanted to talk to you.” Hillary crossed her arms. “I don’t get why you’re getting so upset. Just go blow your dad or something—“

Winnie punched her in the face, her cheeks glowing red. “That’s enough, Hillbilly. Now get out of the fucking way, before I beat your slutty little ass to—“ Winnie stopped when she noticed or people staring at her, her face reddening even more. She began realizing she’d gone too far. A few guys were laughing and whooping, and others looked concerned. 

After a few seconds, someone came over, and Winnie just wanted to die when she saw who it was. Percy Jackson stood in front of her, along with Jason Grace. Winnie stared at the two of them silently, her eyes getting misty. Hillary was on her knees in front of Winnie, holding her face and whimpering quietly. 

Jason walked over and helped Hillary up, looking her over, asking if she was alright. Percy stood next to him, his hard expression unreadable. Winnie was staring at him, her mouth dry. She wasn’t sure what to say to either of them. She was sure that an “I’m sorry.” Wouldn’t do. 

Percy Jackson was Winnie’s idol. He had saved camp, and the world for that matter, several times. He was a powerful demigod. Sure he was the son of Poseidon and that made him inherently powerful, but that didn’t make him any less amazing. 

Now Winnie had punched some kid in front of him. She hid her shame, staring hard at the ground in front of her. This was not going to get to her. 

She stayed like that until she felt someone tap her arm, which almost made her jump. Percy looked at Winnie, holding up his hands. 

“Sorry. Are you alright, Winnie?” He asked, glancing back at Jason and Hillary. Winnie quickly nodded to assure him that she was fine, clenching her fists. 

She wondered how much Percy saw. Not much, if he was here asking how she was, anyway. He was looking at her with those eyes. She thought she was going to explode. 

“Alright.” Percy shrugged. “You should be more careful next time.” He said, then moved closer and lowered his voice. Aphrodite kids can be pains in the ass, but I’d avoid getting on their bad side.” Percy winked, then waved and went off with his friend Jason, who was escorting Hillary to the infirmary. She was probably fine. 

Winnie felt relieved when people stopped looking at her. They all began going back to whatever they were doing, and Winnie saw this as a perfect time to head towards the dining pavilion, since dinner would begin soon. She began walking, feeling very uneasy. 

Winnie wasn’t sure whether that was guilt, or something else. Either way, she knew the rest of the evening would just get worse.


	4. Anxiety

Leo sat with his friends at dinner. Percy had asked/begged Chiron in advance if they could all sit at the Poseidon table together, and he’d end up letting them. The seven all sat around, laughing and eating. 

It was amazing. Leo completely forgot about all his worries for an hour or so. The first time the seven had all got to hang out together for a long time. Hazel and Frank had arrived an hour prior, and seemed kind of tired from the trip here. But they both joined in and seemed to be having just as much fun. 

These people who were once strangers to Leo had become like family to him. After defeating Gaia, the seven got more time to hang out together and become such close friends. He couldn’t ask for better ones. 

But sometimes, Leo’s old habits and thoughts popped into his head. At the end of dinner, when everyone was quieting down and talking amongst themselves, Leo felt lonely. Sitting at a table, surrounded by his closest friends, Leo felt lonely. 

Leo was told that he would always be the outsider, the seventh wheel. Of course, Leo tried not to think about that. When he met Calypso, he was so much happier. And when the seven became closer friends, he tried his best to banish that thought from his mind. It wasn’t true, he told himself. But now that he was alone again, or at least felt it, the thoughts came back. 

He thought back to what Piper said earlier, about finding some new friends. He was starting to wonder what she really meant by that now. Did she really want him here anymore? Did any of them? 

Leo’s mind raced at his stared down at his empty plate. So many worried and scary thoughts, about his friends, his dreams, his self. Leo blocked out all the noise around him, his breathing quickening as more thoughts flooded his mind. He hated the feeling, but embraced it fully. Why was this happening now? Is this what it was like to die?

It wasn’t under Leo’s eyes began to water that someone noticed something was wrong. Piper and Hazel noticed at about the same time, looking at each other with concern. 

“Hey.” Piper put her hand on Leo’s arm, feeling him tensing up. She glanced around at their friends, then moved closer to whisper to in Leo’s ear. “Can you come with me for a minute?” She asked, getting up. Leo stood, frowning slightly. 

“Be right back guys.” Piper smiled at everyone, then dragged Leo off, farther away from everyone else. Leo appreciated her help. He tried to take deep breaths to keep himself calm. Piper was helping him. She obviously cared about him. 

They stopped eventually, Piper tucking her hair behind her ear. She turned to face also, her expression making her worry vey clear. “Did something happen?” 

Leo shook his head, giving her a forced grin as he wiped his eyes. “Nah, nah. I dunno what happened there either. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Do you need anything?” She asked. Piper asked. She could be very helpful when she wanted to be, and Leo admired that. 

“I’m alright, Pipes. Just kinda tired. I think I’m gonna turn in early.”

Piper looked at him, nodding slowly. “Yeah. Okay. What should I tell the others?”

“Tell them that I went to bed. And make sure they don’t bug me. Thanks, sister.” Leo gave her a small wave before running off. But he didn’t go towards the cabins. 

Leo didn’t really plan on going to bed yet. He just wanted to go and be alone somewhere. To relax, and try to get rid of those nasty thoughts. Leo was half convinced that someone else was putting them in his head. It couldn’t have been himself. 

He walked through the grass towards the beach, looking up at the sky. It was glowing pink as she sun was setting on the horizon. A cool wind blew through the field, rustling the grass, which seemed to glow in the sunlight. Leo slowly began to calm down as he walked, his quick breathing slowing and the strange thoughts exiting his mind. 

He arrived at the beach, taking a seat in the dry sand. He pulled out some small gears and screws from his belt, putting them together anxiously as he stared about at the water. 

After several minutes of sitting and trying to clear his thoughts, Leo heard nearby footsteps. He glanced over to see a familiar face walking along the beach. Winnie, the girl he bumped into earlier. He decided to try and be friendly. 

When she got closer to him, Leo stood up and waving, giving her his signature devilish grin. “Hey, missy. What are you doing out here?” The girl looked over at him and seemed to stiffen. Maybe she was just anxious like he was. 

“Walking.” Winnie replied at first, looking down at Leo. “Why, shortie?”

“I’m average height. You’re like— like what, three inches taller than me?”

“More like four or five.”

“Whatever. Not short.” Leo smirked. 

“Alright, not-shorty. What’s up?” Winnie crossed her arms as she looked at him, and Leo definitely saw a hint of a smile. Leo quickly caught on to her personality. She liked to act tough, but she was a lot like him. This was gonna be fun. 

“Well, you looked a little lonely.” Leo said. Winnie rolled her eyes. “—So I thought maybe you’d like to sit with me. Leo Valdez, by the way.”

“I knew that already. One of the seven of the big prophecy.“

“Didn’t realize I was so famous already.” Leo winked. 

“Oh god, I didn’t know you had such a big head, Valdez. I have to be more careful of that.”

“You’d better.” Leo agreed. “You’re a big sweetheart yourself. Winnie, right?”

“That’s me. Winnie Thorne.” She nodded. The two of them continued talking as they walked along the beach. They teased each other and goofed around, Leo going much farther with his goofiness than Winnie. She simply watched him, and he knew he was successful she tried not to smile, or looked away to hide it. She even laughed a couple of times. Winnie had a cute, snorty laugh. Not that Leo really noticed. 

He continued to try and get at her, mostly in the form of lame puns and jokes. But it worked. 

“So, is Winnie short for anything?” He asked, partly out of curiosity, partly because he wanted her to talk more. 

“Um, no.” Winnie shook her head. “It’s actually not. I think my dad just wanted to be stupid or something. Since my mom is Nike. Goddess of Victory. Win-nie. 

Leo snorted, nudging her arm. “Wow, he must really hate you, huh?” He immediately knew he shouldn’t of said that. Winnie froze and went quiet, then glared at him. Leo thought that she was going to hit him, and he think she almost did. But she just shook her head, turned around, and stalked off back towards the cabins without another word. 

“Hey!” Leo sighed, leaning back and watching her go. “I really blew that one. Dammit.” He supposed it was his fault. Most demigods have bad relationships with their parents, so joking about being hated by them would definitely rile up a lot of them. He wasn’t thinking. The demigod did his best to shake it off, deciding that he should be heading back to his cabin. He’d give her time to cool off and try to apologize the next day. 

Several of the other Hephaestus kids were in the cabin already, such as Nyssa, Harley, and Bridgette. He quickly greeted the three of them before heading off to bed. As he laid down, he realized that tomorrow would be his last full day at camp. He decided that he had better have fun, and not let his dumb thoughts get in the way. 

Then Leo heard yelling outside. He shot up in bed and looked around, watching the rest of the cabin get up and head for the door. He followed right behind them


	5. Some static and a prophecy

Winnie trudged back towards her cabin, her face hot. She had overreacted, sure, but she wasn’t going to apologize to him. Never, never, never. At least, not until after he did. Most campers were heading into their cabins, but Winnie wasn’t sure if that’s what she wanted yet. She didn’t really like being alone, even though that’s how she spend most of her time. That short time with Leo had been the highlight of her week. 

She spotted Percy Jackson again, with Annabeth Chase near the Poseidon cabin. Winnie didn’t like Annabeth Chase all that much. Though, she knew that wasn’t fair, since they’d never really spoken. She would never admit that she was jealous of Annabeth Chase, but she wouldn’t deny it either. 

Suddenly Winnie heard someone shouting. She saw someone was over by the Big House, jumping up and down, waving their arms. Some male camper Winnie didn’t know. 

“It’s Rachel!!” He yelled. “She’s spittin out prophecies!” 

Winnie’s eyes widened. Prophecies were a very, VERY big deal. Everyone began running towards the Big House to see what was going on. Winnie was extremely fast and was one of the first people there. 

Rachel Elizabeth Dare floated in the sitting room of the Big House, surrounded in green mist, eyes closed. She was speaking, but... many of the words made no sense. Everyone looked at Chiron, who was writing down what Rachel was saying. Or, at least trying to. His eyebrows were furrowed as he scribbled down the few understandable words coming from her mouth. They seemed to be the same few sentences repeated. 

Winnie glanced at Chiron’s paper. It was just some random words. Though the words “lie” and “die” were visible, which was instantly worrying. 

Do — —. It — — a lie.  
— not— do — — says. You — —  
Prophecy —. Die.

Winnie watched as Rachel continued for another minute, repeating the words over and over. But it was so fuzzy. Winnie thought she heard the words “her” and “all”, but that was all, other than the words on Chiron’s paper. She also thought Rachel may be looking at her. But that was ridiculous. 

Suddenly, Rachel’s eyes snapped open, and she turned to face someone in the ground. She pointed to them, and her voice was suddenly completely clear. Winnie looked over, and was confused. The person she was pointing to was Leo Valdez. 

Three shall go north  
Flaming wheel, proud flag, and heart of fools gold tread forth  
To find the god, in his final rest  
This will be their very first test

Then Rachel collapsed, the mist disappearing back into her body. A few campers ran over to help her up, including Percy Jackson and Leo Valdez. They both looked very concerned as they sat her down. 

Jason Grace stepped out in front of the rest of the crowd, snapping to get their attention. “All of you please return to your cabins. Except for the councillors, we’re having a meeting.”

Winnie cursed under her breath, waiting for the crowd nearest to the door to leave. Her siblings Holly and Laurel pushed part her, since they were the co-councillors. They were also dickheads. 

Winnie locked eyes with Leo Valdez. He was sitting next to Percy on the couch, looking very upset. But he still gave Winnie a small smile and wave before she left. She nodded to him, then returned to her cabin.


	6. Confused

Percy and Leo sat with Rachel. She was drinking water and trying to relax. Whatever was happening to her had really gotten to her, but she didn’t seem in the mood to talk about it. So we all sat together silently, watching Chiron pace around the building. After a few minutes of this, Leo couldn’t take the silence any longer. 

“What the hell happened?” Leo asked, looking at Percy and Rachel. Percy seemed to have no idea either. I assumed he’d know, since he’s witnessed a ton of these prophecy things. 

Rachel shook her head, running her hairs through her curly hair. “I don’t know! What did happen? I feel sick. It feels weird after that happens usually, but this was... ew.”

“You freaked out.” Percy shook his head. “You were talking for a few minutes, but it sounded like gibberish, or just really messed up English. Then there was an actually prophecy.” He explained to her. “I didn’t really get it. Three have to go find a god or something. And tests and fools gold.”

Leo nodded, looking over at Chiron expectantly. “Can I see the paper?”

The paper was silently passed to Leo, and he read it slowly. “‘Three shall go north.’ Cool. ‘Flaming wheel, brave flag, and heart of fools good tread forth’. Okay, so... that seems to represent the people going? Maybe?” He looked at the others for reassurance. Rachel was lying down, and Percy shrugged. 

“Probably. Go on.” Percy leaned back. 

Leo nodded, looking back down at the small, hard-to-read handwriting. This was difficult enough for him, being dyslexic and all. “Um.. ‘To find the god, in his final rest. This will be there very first test.’ Wow. Sounds... fun.” Leo laughed. 

Percy took the paper from his hands, examining it for a few seconds. “Really hope I’m not going on this one. Cause... no thanks.” He snorted. “So ‘Flaming Wheel’. I don’t know any...” he trailed off, then looked at Leo, pointing to him. “Flaming. It’s your quest, anyways. So that makes sense.”

“Me?” Leo frowned, leaning back. He still didn’t believe that the quest was his. He couldn’t do this. “No, no. No way. I just finished my quest. I gotta get back to school!” He looked at the paper again, sighing. Flaming wheel. He was the only guy around with fire powers, and the wheel thing was... weird. No wait, it was a “seventh wheel” comment, wasn’t it? Gods damn it. Plus she was pointing at him. She had to be. Dammit. 

Leo grumbled.. some words under his breath, then looked back at it. “What about ‘proud flag’?” He asked. “Why couldn’t you just give the prophecy to someone else?” He groaned. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Rachel snorted. “I’ll do better next time. I don’t control it, you know!”

“Yeah.” Leo shook his head. “Chiron, you’re quiet. What do I do?”

“I’m not sure, Leo.” Chiron stroked his beard, standing near the wall, looking out the window. “I... well, there are some... some things going on up north”

Percy narrowed his eyes, standing up. “And you didn’t think to say anything earlier?” He asked, shaking his head. 

“I didn’t think that we would need to interfere, but I suppose that... well, find the others who will be assisting you on your quest. I’ll explain it to you all then. Just those three.” He looked at Percy before he patted Leo’s shoulder. “Good luck, boy.” He said, then disappeared out the front doors. 

Percy frowned, then looked at Leo. “You have to tell me what’s going on. You got that?”

“We’ll see. But yeah, sure.” Leo nodded. He could hardly concentrate right now, there was a lot going on, and he needed to take a few moments to process it. He quickly said something that resembled a goodbye, then bolted out the door. He began walking, and he wasn’t sure where he was headed until he got there. Bunker 9.

Leo grinned as he climbed inside, stretching out his arms and taking a deep breath. He set Festus down and clicked a small button, moving away as the dragon reconstructed himself. It took a minute or two, so Leo took that time to sit down and try to think.   
Okay. So he was officially going on a quest again. He didn’t know what he was going to be doing yet, or how important the quest will actually be, but he felt that he should get a head start. He should at least figure out who was going to come with him tonight. 

Proud flag and heart of fools gold. So, someone proud. And someone... overly generous, or kind? He wasn’t 100% sure on that. Leo patted Festus’s metallic snout as he moved over to greet his creator. He laughed and let the dragon poke around his projects, smiling and shaking his head. 

“Careful there, buddy. You break or touch the wrong thing, and we both go ka-boom. Got it?” Leo chuckled, leaning back a bit. He fiddled with a few nuts and bolts he had picked up from his desk, thinking to himself. 

“Well, guess I should get some work done while I’m here. Got some ideas floating around in the old noggin.” He tapped his head, winking at Festus before looking down at the table in front of him.

The door to the bunker opened, and Leo almost jumped. Piper was standing in the doorway, dressed for battle. “Cmon, bud. Didn’t you remember? Jason and I planned tonight’s capture the flag. You’re on my team, cmon.”


	7. Capture the Flag

Winnie stood with the rest of her cabin, along with the Ares, Demeter, and a few other cabins. Jason Grace stood in front of them, leading the team. Piper McLean was leading the other team, with the Hephaestus kids, and the Hermes kids, and a couple of others. Winnie was grinning as she listened to his orders. She was pumped for tonight’s challenge, since there was a few kids on the other teams she wanted to beat the snot out of. Plus, Jason was a very good leader. She respected him. 

Winnie was going to to be travelling around with an Ares guy named Steven and Jason himself. One of her siblings had supposedly cheated to figure out where the other teams flag was, and they were going to check it out. Hey, Nike kids are all about winning, even it means a little cheating. 

But Winnie was very confident they’d win anyways. She knew that she was a skilled fighter, and Steven and Jason were both very good. Steven was known to be great with a sword, and Jason was a son of Zeus. Or, Jupiter. Whatever. 

The game started a minute later, and she headed off with Jason and Steven. They walked as quickly and quietly as they could. Winnie was great at the quick part, but not as good as the quiet part. Inevitably, they ran into some members of the other team very quickly. 

They were also taken out very quickly. That got Winnie’s blood pumping. The three of them continued to move forward, chatting quickly as they did. It was mostly Jason talking about our strategy and what do if (insert a bunch of random things) happened. Winnie listened to as much as it as she could, but she was too focused on trying to get to that flag as quickly as she could. She needed to win this thing. 

It didn’t take them, much longer to find that flag. They spotted several guards standing in the small field, the flag crammed into two small boulders in the middle of them. They all looked at each other, trying to keep hidden behind some trees and bushes. Though it didn’t take very long for them to get spotted. 

 

As soon as they were spotted, the three demigods charged in. She grabbed her sword, running at the nearest guard. Jason and Steven got busy with the other guards, as I took down this one. I recognized her as a Hermes girl she had sparred with a few times, grinning. I knew how she fought, which made it much easier. 

She attacked quickly, which was easy for Winnie to dodge. Nike kids were very fast, so Winnie was just playing with her at first. Then she waited intolerable right after an attack that left her a bit off balance, and went in with her sword. Winnie held no mercy, swinging several times and knocking her to the ground. Then she realized that Jason and Steven were still finishing off the other guards, and no one was even looking at the flag...

She went for it. Winnie ran in, snatching the flag from between the rocks. Then she bolted. It took a few seconds for the guards to begin yelling that she had taken the flag, but Winnie was too pumped with adrenaline to notice. She weaves through trees at a high speed, a big grin on her face. She made it back to her side in only a few minutes, hopping across the river that acted as a border. She held the flag up above her head with great pride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and not the best, ahhhhh.


	8. Flag

Wow, that was a quick game. Leo’s team sucked.

Leo was stuck as a guard with Piper, and some other girl that was apparently friends with Piper. She was supposed to be an alright fighter, and she was actually pretty funny. But Piper and Leo didn’t last too long, as Jason and two other members from his team came in and wiped us out. Leo fought Jason, but he wasn’t that skilled with weapons yet, and didn’t want to burn down the forest... so Leo let Jason beat him. Let him, right.

Once Leo was taken down, Jason and the guy he was fighting with went after Piper, and our other girl was already down. That’s when Leo spotted someone running away from the field. At first he wasn’t sure, but it was definitely Winnie. He yelled something along the lines of “Winnie, flag!” and ran after her. She was fast and Leo couldn’t keep up, but he stayed close enough that he could see her reach her team’s side. She was grinning and waving the flag, the rest of the Nike cabin practically screaming with joy. Those guys freaked Leo out. 

Winnie laughed and gave the flag to Jason, who had walked over with Jason, along with Piper and the other two demigods. They all seemed a little banged up, but mostly okay. Leo went up to congratulate Winnie, wanting to be on good terms with again. 

He walked over to her. She was alone now, and grinning as she leaned against a tree, catching her breath. She looked as Leo walked up, the smile not leaving her face. Leo thought she looked really nice right then, but didn’t say anything about it. That would be weird. 

“Hey, congrats. You kicked our ass.”

“You bet.” Winnie stood up straight, looking down at Leo. She stood over him with a big smile, and it felt like she had forgotten all about what happened at the beach. 

Leo smiled back at her. She looked so beautiful happy and proud of herself and— Leo swallowed. 

Proud. 

Flag. 

“Hey, Winnie?” Leo swallowed, feeling himself suddenly get very warm and... excited? He wasn’t sure. “Do you think... I mean..” he cleared his throat. “I want you to accompany me on my quest.”

Winnie stared at him for a few seconds, her smile slowly fading from her face, a look of confusing replacing it. “What?”

Jason and Piper, who were standing nearby, looked over, also confused. “What?”

“Yes.” Leo swallowed. “I was given a quest by Rachel, and I would like you to be one of the two that will be coming with me.”

Winnie wasn’t sure what to say, her mouth hanging open. She gave a small nod, and then cleared her throat. “Yes, Valdez. Of course. Though I think we should talk more about his..”

“Of course.” He nodded. “Meet you at the beach. After right after curfew.” Leo whispered, flashing his signature grin. “I’ll be waiting.” Then he turned around and walked away, Jason and Piper following after him, full of questions. 

•••  
“How did you guys not hear about it?” Leo laughed, shaking his head at his two friends. He stood near the beach, ready to finish up this conversation. Winnie would be around soon. “Everyone was yelling about it. Were you off making out, or?” Piper slapped his arm, and Leo snickered. 

“No, we were just busy preparing for Capture the Flag.” Jason shook his head

Leo raised an eyebrow. “What were you preparing exactly?”

“We— Well, we..” Jason thought for a few seconds. The grumbled a “ship up Valdez”

Leo thought of that as a win. He grinned and took a few steps away from his friends. “Well I’d love to stay and chat, but I have plans. You two have fun~” Leo turned, heading over to the beach, collapsing into the sand. 

Winnie walked over after ten minutes are so. Leo looked over. She’d changed into a tank top and jean shorts, her camp shirt tied around her waist. Her hair hung around her shoulders, and he didn’t realized he’d been staring until she raised an eyebrow, hitting his arm lightly. “You alive, Valdez?”

“What? Oh, yeah. I just—“ 

“Being a pervert?” She smirked. 

“No! Shut up!” He said playfully, laughing. “Come sit down. I have to explain everything.”

The two of them sat side by side, facing the beach as the waves slowly made their way towards them. The water came just far enough to hit their toes before going back to the sea. 

Leo explained everything he knew, which wasn’t much. Well, everything he knew about the quest wasn’t much. Shut up. 

She listened to him speak, staying quiet and only making one rude-ish comment.  
“I was there, Valdez. I know what happened to Rachel.” Winnie raised an eyebrow at me, chuckling. 

“Yeah, I know, I’m just... just listen to me.”

He told her about how he thinks they were talking shout her in the prophecy. “Now I just have to find the other one.” He shrugged. “But it’s a pretty weird statement. Heart of fools gold. That could apply to a lot of people. 

“What does it even mean? Like... a nice/stupid person?” Winnie suggested. 

“Yeah, I think it’s something like that.” Leo nodded. “I’ll figure it out soon.” Suddenly, Leo heard someone behind him. 

“Valdez!” Leo recognized that voice. He prepared himself before a hand slapped on his shoulder. His sister, Bridgette. 

“I’ve been looking around for you.” She chuckled, then looked at Winnie. She frowned a bit, then walked over, in front of Leo and Winnie. Leo noted that Winnie and Bridgette were giving each other weird looks, though he wasn’t sure what it was about. 

“What are you kids up to?” Bridgette asked, putting on one of her big smiles. Though this one was more forced. Even Leo could tell. 

“Talking about stuff.” Leo frowned. “What did you need, sis?”

She cleared her throat. “Right. The Hephaestus cabin is having a little party tonight. Just us and whoever people are bringing, for fun. It’ll be a fun pick-me-up after losing Capture The Flag. Just wanted you to know.”

“Thanks.” Leo smiled at her, nodding. That sounded fun. He thought for a second that it would be fun if he brought Winnie, and the rest of his friends. That would definitely spice up the party. “I’ll be there, Bridgette. Who can I bring?”

“Whoever you want. Just don’t bring too many, or people that will spill. We’re not really supposed to be doing it, but it just seemed like a really fun idea!” Bridgette giggled and smiled, her cheeks tinted red. She was such a sweetheart, I was already on board with this party. 

Winnie looked Bridgette over, not looking nearly as happy as Bridgette herself did. The the two seemed like total opposites to me. “We’ll both come.” Leo told her, Winnie giving a confused look. 

“Alright.” Bridgette sucked in a breath. “See you there, alright? Love ya.” Bridgette laughed, and ran off. When she left, Winnie shot Leo a glare. She stood up. 

“See you there, Valdez.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing is hard when you’re depressed and lazy

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this for myself a while ago. Tell me if you like it. Thank you so much for bothering to read it. First chapter is slow, I know.


End file.
